GENRE

What is Genre? Genre is originally a French word meaning ‘kind’, ‘sort’ or ‘type’. A category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality.

Genre The term ‘Genre’ can be used to ‘categorise’ almost anything. For example; film, music, television, art, literature, computer games, etc.

Genre Its purpose it similar to that of a filing system where a product can be filed under a certain category with similar products. Next time you are in your local HMV, notice how this is done so the customer (you) can find the film they are looking for with other films that are similar in content.

Defining Genre John Fiske describes genre as ‘attempts to structure some order into the wide range of texts and meanings that circulate in our culture for the convenience of both producers and audiences’. Genre is a way of categorising texts in our media-saturated culture.

Culture & Genre Genre is a dynamic concept, which changes over time and in different cultural contexts. Because the changes are gradual and culturally dependent, you may not realise that the change has taken place.

Culture & Genre The changes may be due to wider issues such as desensitisation or institutional development.

Question How do we know Which text belongs to which Genre?

Genre Classification If we start by thinking of television genres, programmes within the same genre will have similar, familiar, or instantly recognisable patterns, techniques or conventions that include one or more of the following:

Genre Classification Setting Plot Motifs Format Mise-en-scene Technical Features Characters Situations

Example A soap opera, crime serial or reality TV programme sets up certain expectations for the audience as to what the programme will be about, and how it will be constructed. Film genres can include Action / Adventure, Sci-Fi, Westerns, Horror and Film Noir.

No mass media text is made in isolation. All texts operate within a genre, although many texts can be hybrid of more than one genre. For example, the docu-soap being a mixture of the codes & conventions of the documentary and soap opera.

Codes & Conventions Associated with any genre, are its codes & conventions. This means the textual codes which give meaning to an audience and the conventions of the genre, such as themes / ideologies or narratives, which are used or subverted by the text.

Codes & Conventions These codes and conventions are important for the audience and also for the producer because there is a genre framework for the text and it is more likely to attract audiences.

The Audience Genre is a useful ‘hook’ for an audience. Trailers for a new television serial will clearly identify the genre and, along with establishing an enigma which the audience will want to resolve, this genre identification attracts an audience. Just think about the number of similar programmes when any genre becomes popular with the audience.

Examples After the first ‘Big Brother’ programme, came many more reality TV shows. The success of ‘Changing Rooms’ was followed by a range of property programmes. How long till we have programmes such as ‘I’m a celebrity chef’s big brother in the jungle get me out of my changing room and into my garden force’ !!!

Background to Genre Theory Generally thought to have developed as a result of Andre Basin’s work on Westerns in the 1950’s. He was the first to explore the very significant advantages of genre from an institutional perspective. Genres make film making more efficient (by allowing the re-use of plots, sets, etc) as well as more marketable.

Background to Genre Theory Robert Altman argues that genres are usually defined in terms either of: Certain media language (For example, the Western: Guns, horses, wagons, landscapes, or even Western stars such as Clint Eastwood or John Wayne), known as ‘Semantic’. Or certain ideologies and narratives, known as Syntactic’.

To summarise, Genre is… A way of categorising texts. A way of defining codes & conventions for a category of texts. A way of setting up audience expectations.

To summarise, Genre is… Culturally dependent – different cultural groups construct different genre expectations. Constructed through a series of signs (visual & aural) associated with the genre or through use of generic narratives and ideologies.

Game Here is a series of film posters. Your task is to determine which genre the film belongs to. You must explain HOW you know that this film belongs to a particular genre.